Originally Posted by: heeler hmmmm..the percentage of your mash shouldn't even matter, it's the tower or distillation unit that you use to {{concentrate}} the distillate, hence a reflux tower will get you a purer higher proof likker than a gooseneck tower (or pot still tower). And a 10-12 plate flute tower would be even better.
Today I bet you can buy some kind of pellet to help with the h2o removal but at what cost?? And at home?? Is there a permit for that?? It would prolly be cheaper to buy the AV Gas fuel.
A double condenser????? If the vapor has been condensed by the first condenser what does the second condenser do???
I'm not shooting you down but if $$$ is not an issue I bet you surely could make a go of it and make it work in your favor, but again if money is not an issue why not just buy the higher octane fuel??
On a side note....I know a guy who has access to returned beer kegs and he has reluxed the left over beer out of em and burned that in his airboat without any problems. I dont know what the proof or octane would be but he said it does burn when mixed with aviation fuel so I guess your idea would work even if you didn't make 200 proof.
The percentage of a wash does matter a little bit because it determines how much you get out of a run, but that is all. The
absolute minimum proof for fuel should be around 160. Kane was basically talking about turning a standard pot still into a reflux still, but in my opinion he would be better off buying a tower from Brewhaus.
Kane, these are the ones I recomend:
http://www.brewhaus.com/...-Connector-P1016C96.aspx ^ This one is for small batches. It's best for making a small amount of fuel such as a couple of lawn mowers and some vehicles that have a small capacity fuel tank (5 gallons or less).
http://www.brewhaus.com/...ity-Column-P1019C96.aspx ^ This one here I would recomend for larger batches such as fueling small cars and trucks and what not because it can handle alot larger volumes. The bad thing about this one though is the fact I would
not recomend this for the small scale hobbyist. The minimum size boiler you'd need would be 30 gallons or larger because it's speed is off the charts. I was told that this beast can empty a 15 gallon boiler/kettle in 40 minutes at 93% ABV without breaking a sweat and that is running it slow. To stay on the hobby scale, I wouldn't go higher than a 55 gallon kettle/boiler which would require a custom burner. These guys is whom I would recomend paying a visit to to find out how to set up a fuel operation:
http://www.bubbasbarrels.com/ ^ They're really good, but be prepared to spend alot of money. The small burner alone that they custom build is $200+ bucks, but it's designed to support a large 55+ gallon barrel. Brewhaus and Bubba's Barrels.
Kane you also need to talk to
Bayou Ruler about his set up and what all he'd recomend. Right now I'm just getting started myself and really can't help you that much just yet.